Flyers rookie sensation Matvei Michkov is the real deal. His team is ready to protect the investment

Another preseason game, another big performance by rookie sensation Matvei Michkov.

After coming up empty in his preseason debut, he has notched goals in two straight games, including a pair in a 3-2 overtime win over the Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday — and they weren’t a divorce-netter like his tally against the New York Islanders.

Michkov’s first on the night was during a power play when a redirect off the shaft of his stick at the right post found the net. His second goal, in overtime, was, however. Michkov skated down the right side and fired a shot past Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo.

Michkov is good — that is a well-known fact. Here are three other things we learned from the Flyers’ thrilling win in overtime.

Don’t touch Michkov

Flyers general manager Danny Brière said at Michkov’s introductory press conference that they showed him the epic fight between Nic Deslauriers and the New York Rangers’ Matt Rempe last season, telling the youngster: “That’s his new best friend.”

He may have said it with a chuckle, but it is clear that the Flyers are serious about protecting their prized prospect. Deslauriers was not in the lineup on Saturday, but that didn’t mean there weren’t guys willing to step up in his place.

In the first period, Bruins defenseman Billy Sweezey drove Michkov into the boards high and, after the Flyers winger had passed the puck, kept going at him. When they finally separated, Sweezey appeared to be trying to get Michkov to drop the gloves.

Sweezey didn’t get Michkov; he got Sean Couturier instead. The Flyers captain, who had one fight last year — his first since the 2019 preseason — went after Sweezey and danced with a guy who had six fights in just the last season. Couturier landed a few and got the stick taps from his teammates and cheers from the fans.

In the second period, it was Hunter McDonald who initially stepped up as Michkov was swarmed after trying to jam the puck in at the right post. He earned a roughing penalty as he helped out his buddy, who grabbed Trent Frederic in the scrum. They jawed at each other while holding each other’s jerseys before Couturier and then Travis Konecny ​​came over to have a word with the veteran forward.

Fedotov looks OK

There are question marks about whether or not Ivan Fedotov’s game can translate to the NHL after all his time in the Kontinental Hockey League. After stopping 10 of 12 shots in his preseason debut against the Washington Capitals, he played the whole game against Boston and looked OK.

But just OK.

A big body at 6-foot-7, he may not be the quickest or most athletic goalie, but he was reading plays well to start things off. On the 12 shots he faced in the first period, he allowed one goal, a shot from the point by Hampus Lindholm that deflected off of Jamie Drysdale. The goal came after the Flyers had two chances to get the puck out but were stopped at the blue line each time.

In the second period, he did allow Matthew Poitras to score a short-handed goal. Fedotov didn’t seem to pick up the puck well on the breakaway and allowed the shot past his glove.

At times, Fedotov looked steady, and at other times it looked like he was struggling to make the stop. In the end, he stopped 25 of 27 shots.

Not the flashiest goalie, Fedotov does have a big frame to fit the net. But he is driven to be the best and was spotted going through his positioning during TV timeouts.

Bubble guys continue to state their case

As the games started dwindling, several guys in the lineup were trying to earn at least one more preseason game or even a chance as an extra forward or defenseman when the team broke camp.

Jett Luchanko made another plea to at least earn a nine-game tryout. Did he have moments where he showed that he’s just 18 years old? Absolutely, noted by the three giveaways he had through the first 40 minutes, two coming in the opening frame.

But playing between Bobby Brink and Joel Farabee, the centerman also used his speed and vision to create plays. In the first period, Luchanko turned on his jets, his best assets, to take off down the right side and cut across the crease. He couldn’t bury the puck but he put the Bruins on notice.

There were a few times he tried to force passes, but when he had the space he made great plays. On the same shift where he almost scored, he came within an inch of setting up Farabee for a breakaway, and in the second period, he started a tic-tac-toe play — the one where Couturier had a wide-open net but opted to try a pass — with a fantastic set-up to Farabee in the slot.

Olle Lycksell is another guy who played with the Flyers last season and has had an impressive camp. He continues to get better and better each game. On Saturday night, he put on an impressive showing, not only being the setup guy for Michkov’s power-play marker but also confidently carrying the puck around the net and feeding Rasmus Ristolainen in the right face-off circle for the Flyers’ first goal.

Lycksell had several chances to score and just missed on the power play in the third period. But he also got on the score sheet with Michkov’s marker in the second, as he was the one who walked in from the left circle and found Michkov.

up next

The Flyers have Sunday off before heading to Long Island to play the Islanders on Monday (7 pm).